Abstract
We encountered 2 cases of bilateral acute otitis media presenting with moderate mixed hearing loss in bilateral ears. The first case was a 37-year-old man who had a cold and bilateral ear fullness. He was diagnosed with acute otitis media, with mixed hearing loss in the right and left ears (65.0dB and 52.5dB, respectively). After myringotomy, antibiotic administration and intravenous drip infusion of steroids, the hearing loss in the both ears improved to 28.8dB and 30.0dB, respectively. The second case was a 48-year-old woman. She presented with fever and bilateral ear fullness, and further had mixed hearing loss in the right and left ears (70.0dB and 55.0dB, respectively). After myringotomy, antibiotic administration and intravenous drip infusion of steroids, the hearing loss improved to 21.3 dB and 15.0 dB in the right and left ears, respectively.
The incidence of inner ear disorder caused by acute otitis media ranges from 1.5% to 1.6%, with 9.6% of the cases showing a bilateral hearing loss. In Japan, 17 cases of acute otitis media have been reported in patients aged 30-50 years. It is believed that the inflammation spreads to the inner ear through the round and oval window, and via microfissures in the bone around the inner ear window. No cases of reiterate sensorineural hearing loss have been reported. We supposed that this is due to the thickness of the window membrane as a result of repeated chronic inflammation.
